angela merkel -- the italian prime minister says he is greatly shaken. claudio levagne is covering the. >> reporter: it came as a major shock here. the only time that a pope resigned was back in 1294, the fifth to resign, and that didn't go so well with public sentiment. the recent ig nails was called the great refusal, and even featured in dante's inferno "the divine comedy." received more positive reactions this time. a cardinal said they admired his courage, and it does take courage to step down as a leader of a 1.2 billion catholics around the world, but pope benedict xiv is ed it himself, i don't have the strength to carry on all the duties that are required by the pope and the pontiff. he just wants a younger pope with more stamina and more strength to take over. chris? >> claudio, thank you so much, from rome. >>> two senate committees now plan to hold hearings because of the growing controversy over president obama's unmanned drone program. it's the democrats who are worried about the balance between security and civil liberties while the preside